


I Think Your Crewmen Are Eavesdropping, Dear.

by WickedHeadache



Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: Everyone Thinks They're Together, F/F, Fluff, Humor, Mistaken for Being in a Relationship, N Things, POV Outsider, oblivious!Janeway
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:42:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27674879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WickedHeadache/pseuds/WickedHeadache
Summary: Four times Janeway and Seven gave the crew the wrong impression + the one time they decided to prove them right.
Relationships: Kathryn Janeway/Seven of Nine
Comments: 8
Kudos: 102





	I Think Your Crewmen Are Eavesdropping, Dear.

**Author's Note:**

> I am once again trying to be humorous and failing epically. But there you go-
> 
> This is a fine mess and I hope you like it.

**i. the incident**

Chakotay rested his jaw on the palm of his hand, looking around the table to the others as anxiously as they seemed to be. They were all aware that, when it came to anyone else, this would warrant punishment. In the case of these two, worry.

The captain and Seven of Nine were late for the briefing. The two people that possessed enough anal retentiveness to never be unpunctual for anything were twenty minutes late.

He dragged his hand across his face. He'd rather not watch Lieutenants Torres and Paris muttering into each other's ears, no doubt commenting on the same matter that was feeding into his frustrations.

“Alright,” he sighed, and put his hands down on the table. “We'll just have to begin without-”

Then, as if prompted, the door opened, Seven and Janeway staggering into the room. Both carried flushed faces and messy tied-back hair, with several locks sticking out. By looking at the impassive looks on their faces, if it weren't for their current appearance, one would never know the less than professional reasons for their delay.

Chakotay gaped at them before he caught himself and closed his mouth shut. The same couldn't be said about the rest of the crew members in the room. The grin in Lieutenant Paris's face was increasing in size with every passing second and he looked like he was straining himself by keeping his thoughts to himself.

_ Thank the Gods _ . Chakotay would throttle the man himself if he ever dared to voice what was going through his head — and Chakotay's.

Janeway, however, was either unaware of this, or uncharacteristically unbothered by the crew knowing some inappropriate details about her personal life.

“I apologize for the delay,” Janeway said, not even wasting her time by making up an excuse, and moved to sit down. Seven remained in her position, standing still with her hands behind her back, expression impassive. “I hope you didn't begin without us.”

“You came in just in time,” Chakotay replied. He narrowed his eyes as he looked at the captain.

Apparently, the woman had decided to ignore the no fraternizing with crew members rule after five years of following it religiously. He couldn't help but feel hurt. Kathryn had done it for Seven but she hadn't been able to do it for him?

“Good. Let's get started, then.”

And the meeting went on without complications, everyone ignoring the fact that their captain and their Astrometrics officer looked sweaty and that it wasn't that hot in the briefing room.

* * *

**ii. hand holding surely isn't against starfleet regulation?**

“You sure 'bout that?” Laney grinned. “I've been working on this new holonovel about Kossa Antos — you know that character I told you about the other day? — and I'm pretty sure that if you'd just reconfigure the hologram's moral algorithms he'd stop trying to save your life.”

“Oh, shut up,” Harry struggled not to pout and she chuckled.

He felt a bit embarrassed that he hadn't thought of it by himself but, to be fair, it had been a while since he'd written anything from scratch and he  _ was _ a little rusty. He would've asked Tom for help (he'd probably love his idea) but he and B'Elanna seemed to be even more smitten with each other lately, to the point he could barely get him alone for breakfast.

Thankfully, Laney was an enthusiastic holonovel writer and actually seemed excited at the prospect of teaching him a thing or two.

Harry looked down to his plate. He had been in the Mess Hall for almost an hour and had yet to dare to try Neelix's latest concoction. It was bright yellow, and not in a juicy, yummy kind of way. And the bitter scent it oozed wasn't helping the matters.

He grasped his fork with determination, ready to get it over with, when his resolve slipped right through his fingers and he put the fork down.

He heard Laney snicker. 

“I can't do this,” he declared, lifting his hands in surrender.

“Oh, come on, Kim. It's not half bad.”

He shot her a skeptical look. “Yeah? Then I'd like Neelix to tell me exactly what this is instead of leaving it at ‘super special breakfast surprise.’”

“It's weird,” Laney tilted her head retrospectively as she crewed. “It reminds me of moba fruit, in taste, but without the sweetness. Could get used to it.”

“Must be that Bajoran palate,” he remarked and she grinned proudly. 

At that moment, as if on instinct, Harry straightened his back, sensing a presence in the room he couldn't explain. As he turned his head, he noticed the captain had entered the Mess Hall. How did she  _ do _ that? Harry shook his head to himself and tried to pretend he hadn't seen her.

Meanwhile, he kept sneaking glances at her from the corner of his eye. He couldn't help it. There was just something about the captain — the power — that made him aware of her.

Therefore, Harry noticed right away that the captain was striding directly toward the table Seven of Nine was occupying all by herself. The captain didn't hesitate before sitting down — which was a little rude, especially for Janeway, but Seven didn't even blink.

In fact, Seven seemed to be smiling.

Harry puzzled over that for a second before the ex-Borg's voice caught up to him.

“Captain, I see you've decided to follow my advice.”

Janeway frowned, trying to figure out what she meant on her own before giving up.

“Refresh my mind on what this advice was, again?” The captain rested her chin on her fist.

“I believe it was related to how you should...  _ take _ something if you desire it.”

The tip of the captain's ears turned red, and suddenly Harry didn't want to listen anymore. Unfortunately, Seven didn't seem to be hearing his internal prayers.

“You must remember my previous observations in your average daily behavior. You appear to have a tendency to hesitate when fulfilling-”

Janeway interrupted, “-personal quests. Yes, I do recall,” she added, voice hushed and chastising. Not that Seven cared.

“Am I correct to assume you didn't join me with the sole purpose of proving a point?” 

“Yes, you are” Janeway's lips twitched into a light smile. “I thought we could have breakfast together. As long as my company is wanted, of course.”

Seven was baffled, in her own expressionless manner. She quirked her ocular implant. “Captain, your company is always wanted.”

The captain seemed more than pleased by that statement. Harry didn't think he'd ever seen her beam so openly in front of other crewmen _. _

Laney hummed nonchalantly, dragging his attention back to her. When his gaze found her face again, she was smiling. 

“They're at it again, aren't they?” She leaned over the table, whispering.

“What do you mean?”

“You know… after what happened at that briefing?” Laney's eyes scanned him to only find puzzlement. She sighed. “When they got so caught up in some  _ physical _ activities that they turned in a whole hour late?”

“It was just twenty minutes,” Harry defended, and Laney relaxed now that he remembered. “And it probably wasn't anything like  _ that _ . It doesn't mean anything.”

Laney looked at him skeptically.

“Right?" He questioned.

“I don't know. You were there, you tell me.”

“It's just- It wasn't that big of a deal!” He watched his tone, keeping it low. “There's probably some reasonable explanation.”

“Yes… Like the captain finally getting laid,” she drawled.

Just to be sure Janeway hadn't heard them, Harry glanced over to where she was sitting. She didn't seem to be aware of anything other than Seven. As he was about to retort to Laney that their captain would never behave like she suggested, he spotted Janeway reaching over the table for Seven's hand — the human one — and holding it steadily, thumb rubbing tenderly the back of it.

Harry's jaw dropped.

“Maybe you are onto something,” he told her. His face was pale.

  
  


* * *

**iii. the one time Captain Janeway watched her go**

“Wanna grab a drink?” Janeway rested her cheek on the palm of her hand, a lopsided grin gracing her lips. 

“According to the Doctor, synthehol has a rather intoxicating effect in my physiology, so I will have to decline your offer.”

Janeway chuckled at the thought of an uninhibited Seven of Nine. “Now that's something I would pay good latinum to see.”

“Captain?”

“Oh, don't mind me, it's an expression,” she waved her question off. “I wasn't talking about a syntheholic drink, though. Don't you want to have something else? Coffee? Tea? Juice?”

Seven pondered over that for a few seconds. “I do not require liquid refreshment at the moment.”

“Suit yourself,” Janeway shrugged good-naturedly and quickly asked for brandy. “At this point, I know how to pick my battles.”

“Battles? Which… ‘battles’ are you fighting, Captain?” Seven's voice was bordering on amused.

“Right now?” Janeway smiled slyly. “None. I just won one.”

“Captain?”

“I got you all the way to holodeck 2 and sharing a table with me in Sandrine's. Seems like a success to me.” 

Janeway's eyes gleamed mischievously as she laughed and Seven seemed to have trouble maintaining her cool exterior as well. The ex-Borg quirked her ocular implant. 

“Well played.”

Janeway didn't break eye contact as she took a sip from her drink, flirty smile widening with every second of interaction with Seven of Nine.

“However, Captain, I must confess, I was not coerced into spending time with you.”

Janeway lifted her brows, interested. “Oh?”

“In fact, I find myself seeking your attention most times,” Seven confessed, although her face remained expressionless and one would never be able to tell the kind of effects her words were supposed to have on the captain. “It is... invigorating.”

Janeway reached over the table and caressed Seven's arm and wrist, her touch ending softly through the tip of her fingers. It was warm and fond, like the captain's eyes when she looked at her.

“That's good to know,” an absentminded smile began to grow in Janeway's lips.

The beep of Seven's combadge ruined the moment, as it tended to do. 

“Torres to Seven of Nine. Please, report to Engineering.”

Seven sighed, giving the captain a look that could be considered her version of apologetic. 

“Acknowledged. I will be there shortly, Lieutenant,” Seven said and stood up, hands behind her back. She clenched her jaw as she looked down to Janeway, who returned her gaze in understanding, but not less disappointment. “I apologize, Captain, I wasn't expecting for this meeting to be shortened.”

“Don't worry about it,” Janeway waved her concerns off.

“May we resume it on another occasion?”

“Of course,” Janeway shot her a lopsided grin. “You didn't think I was letting you off the hook that easily, did you?”

A hint of a smile appeared in Seven's lips. “Perhaps not. Thank you, for a pleasant evening, however short-lived it turned out to be.”

“You're very welcome.”

Then she leaned down and kissed Janeway's cheek smoothly before walking out of the holodeck. Everyone in Sandrine's spotted simultaneously the crimson blush that crept up the captain's neck. Sandrine herself whistled suggestively, low enough not to reach the captain.

Janeway sighed, rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands, and downed her drink.

No one heard what had been discussed. All they knew was that Seven of Nine's exit was followed by Janeway's, who had waited five solid minutes before trailing the younger woman's footsteps, a stubborn blush warming her cheeks.

* * *

**iv. the one with the lovers quarrel and the green man**

Tom patted the Doctor's shoulder and, as soon as the hologram turned his back on him, he made a show of rolling his eyes for B'Elanna. The half-Klingon looked unimpressed and kept tapping her foot impatiently, arms crossed. Tom pouted. He immediately caught a tiny smile curling B'Elanna's lips.

_ Still got it _ , he grinned boyishly and stood up.

“You'll have to come back to Sickbay tomorrow to the second dose of the treatment,” the Doctor told him. Tom sucked his teeth and nodded, eager to be back on his feet. “And in the future, please refrain from ingesting unidentified substances from alien planets.”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, Doc,” Tom waved him off as he walked out of Sickbay.

The Doctor shook his head in exasperation, muttering petty things under his breath.

B'Elanna followed him close by as he rushed to the turbolift. He kept rambling about the next chapter of  _ Captain Proton _ , fluttering his lashes at her like a dork while he asked her to play the role of an undermined damsel in distress. She turned him down, as usual.

Tom shrugged and called, “Deck 4.”

“Your quarters?” B'Elanna said.

“Thought I'd take a quick shower.”

B'Elanna smirked. “Maybe you'll even get to take the green of your face.”

As Tom looked at her bewildered, the turbolift stopped, and B'Elanna stepped out before him.

“Green?” Tom shrieked slightly before following her. “The Doctor didn't say anything about green.”

“I see you haven't looked in the mirror.”

“But- but is it a- moldy green?” His voice reached an even higher tone. “Or more like an apple green?” 

B'Elanna stopped on her tracks and looked up at him, appearing to be amused. “Does it matter?” She said and began walking again.

“ _ Does it matter _ ?!” Tom's indignant shout reached her ears from behind her and she laughed. “Of course, it matters, it's-”

As they turned around the corner of the hallway, they spotted Captain Janeway and Seven of Nine exiting Transporter Room 1, coming back from the same mission that had left green dots all over Tom's face. They looked okay, to his chagrin. It seemed he was the only one who thought to try out the purple, pear-like fruits from the jungle. So not fair.

They paused, however, and attempted to make themselves the least visible possible, because their resident Borg and their captain appeared to be engaging in a heated discussion. And boy did Tom rather not get mixed up in that whole business.

As wonderful as it was to see the captain lose her composure every once in a while, there were certain personal details about Janeway's life he just didn't want to know.

“Seven, just don't do that again,” Janeway exhaled exasperatedly.

“It saved your life,” Seven clenched her jaw as she stood her ground.

“Yes, at the risk of your own, and that's not a price I'm willing to pay.”

“Haven't you considered that perhaps  _ I _ am willing?” Seven replied, taking a daring step toward Janeway. It was a challenge, for the captain to prove her wrong, to lie to her. “You allow everyone else to put their lives on the line for me — you risk your own life for me, but you won't allow me to offer you the same benefit. It's hypocritical.”

The captain's eyes widened like she had just been slapped.

“I am your captain,” she reminded her, slowly. “I have a responsibility to the members of this crew and that includes you.”

“One mind, one voice,” Seven quoted the words of the Borg Queen, except it was mocking. “That is the meaning of your rank.”

“It means that I must make the hard decisions,” Janeway said defensively.

“It's a pretext to withdraw yourself from me.”

“I beg your pardon?” Janeway's voice was a whisper that would've sent any of them running for their lives. But not Seven.

“You forget, Captain, I'm not as naive as you like to believe I am,” Seven says. “I am well aware of your true intentions toward me, and of your propensity to ignore them. Unfortunately, I do understand your rank, and I do understand your obligation to the crew. I would never force myself above them, but that doesn't mean I'll allow you to hide behind them.”

The hallway remained silent for half a minute, both women staring coldly into the other's eyes. Even from the distance, Tom was shocked to notice that the captain looked hurt.

“I'm not hiding from anything,” the captain began responding. Her voice was but a mere whisper, and Tom had to strain his ears to hear it.

“Aren't you?” Seven lifted her ocular implant.

“I'm protecting you,” she affirmed to herself, raising her tone forcibly. She looked away when her voice broke at the end. “As I would any member of this crew. The fact that I also consider you my friend doesn't change that. If you can't accept that, I'm afraid you've chosen the wrong collective.”

“Very well,” Seven's back got straighter, if possible. “As you wish. You can drop me off at the next M-class planet we find. Our sensors already-”

“I'm not dropping you off in some random planet in the Delta Quadrant!” Janeway sounded offended at the very suggestion.

“Captain, I will not accept your poorly fabricated lies,” Seven insisted. “So the only choice you have left is to find a collective for me more fitting to your... preferences.”

The captain frowned. “Are you pulling my leg?”

Seven smirked. “Yes, Captain.”

Janeway sighed. She pinched the bridge of her nose. “I'm starting to regret ever encouraging you to develop a sense of humor,” she said. Seven blinked at her. “This is what we're going to do. You're going to regenerate, and I'm going to sleep on this issue, and tomorrow morning we're having breakfast in my quarters and discussing this calmly like two civilised people.”

Seven paused, looking straight ahead as she processed what the captain said. Even as she finished and returned her gaze to Janeway, she was puzzled.

Janeway softened her voice almost imperceptibly. “Okay?”

Seven tilted her head. “It is... acceptable.”

The captain nodded once, tensely, and walked away. With her back to Seven of Nine, she never saw her inhaling sharply, trying to keep her emotions at bay. Tom did.

He rolled his eyes. Why did this sort of thing always happen to him? Couldn't he just visit a planet, come back with an even-looking skin tone and not catch his captain in the middle of a lovers quarrel? Was that too much to ask of this life?

“Did the captain just call Seven her friend?” He mused out loud. Then, he groaned internally. He was so not getting into this mess.

“I know, this is getting ridiculous,” B'Elanna scoffed, then sighed. “But also, the _ romance _ of it all. The  _ angst _ !”

“Nope,” he declared and raised his hands. “No, I'm not doing this.”

“Doing what?”

“The captain's like a scary big sister. I'm not thinking about her and romance,” he pretended to shudder, gaining a hit in the shoulder. “Ow! What was that for?”

“She's a person, Tom. She's entitled to a little bit of love.”

“I never said she wasn't. I'm just saying I don't wanna know about it. It's bad enough that I had to find out about her and Michael Sullivan,” Tom grimaced. 

Apparently, the captain was a bit of a heartbreaker. Another thing he preferred not to be aware of. The captain deserved to be happy, but Tom didn't deserve to be tortured with details about her sex life. Knowing that she had one was funny enough, his knowledge of it didn't need to go further than that.

Later that night, after he had found out that the green was washable, he and Harry were walking to the Mess Hall when he spotted the captain leaning back against the kitchen counter speaking to Chakotay. Tom groaned internally and looked away — she had seen enough of the captain's business for one day.

Unfortunately, the table he and Harry settled in wasn't farther away enough to tune out Janeway and Chakotay's conversation.

“How about you join me for breakfast tomorrow?” Chakotay asked casually.

They probably had shared meals thousands of times over the years.

Nope. He wasn't doing this. He was ignoring  _ that _ conversation and any potential social life the captain could have.

Janeway smiled apologetically. “Sorry. I've got plans already.”

Tom began to mentally sing 1950's rock-'n'-roll.

“Ah,” Chakotay looked at her knowingly. “You and Seven got a date?”

He switched to 1990's rock. Harry was staring at him oddly. Good. He should focus on that. On Harry, on the music inside his head, on B'Elanna running late… On Captain Janeway talking about her love life with Chakotay-

She stared at him in disbelief. “You can wipe that little smirk off your face, it's not a date. Where in the hell did you get that idea?”

“Captain,” Chakotay was taken aback. “It's practically common knowledge among the crew that you two are involved.”

“You mean, idle gossip,” Janeway replied carefully. Chakotay should've seen it like the warning that it was.

“No, Captain. It is assumed that you have been dating for several weeks now.”

Janeway looked at him like he had grown a second head before she scoffed, loudly, drawing a few gazes to them.

“Now that you mention it, I've been feeling like I was missing something today,” Janeway clicked her tongue sardonically and grinned with no humor. “Thankfully, it was just an  _ affair _ with one of my female subordinates, I was worried it may be my late morning coffee,”

“You're deflecting,” he sighed. “Remember, I was in that meeting when you ran in late with Seven.”

Janeway looked like she was losing her patience. “Is that supposed to be meaningful in some way?”

“Kathryn,” he lowered his voice and blushed profusely. He looked away, unable to explain what he thought he saw. It didn't take much effort for Kathryn to latch on to his assumptions.

She gaped at him, horrified. “Chakotay, we were just playing Velocity,” she hissed. 

“You don't need to do this, I know the truth.”

Janeway's face turned cold. “I don't know what it is that you think you know, but you're wrong. And, honestly? I expected more from my First Officer than to go around gossiping about my personal life behind my back.”

“What? It's nothing like-!”

The captain didn't allow him to finish his sentence. She had grasped her cup of coffee and sauntered quickly out of the Mess Hall before he could.

* * *

**+1**

Just as Seven was approaching the captain's quarters for breakfast, the ship went to Red Alert. If she weren't Borg, she would've whined like a Human spawn. Fortunately, she had yet to regain that distasteful part of Humanity. She sighed instead, and was about to turn on her heels and walk back to the turbolift when the door of the captain's quarters opened.

Captain Janeway stepped out, Starfleet uniform and command mask on, and almost collided with her.

“Seven!” She blinked as she recovered from the surprise. “Raincheck?”

“I believe that would be a wise course of action,” Seven nodded as they began to stride towards the turbolift. 

“Bridge.”

Six hours and five wounded officers in Sickbay later, the only words Seven heard from the captain were the ones coming through the combadge. As she exited Astrometrics, Seven resigned to having lunch alone. It was clear that the captain was not holding up to her promise. 

They were no longer on Red Alert, and there were already rumors circulating about the captain having locked herself up in her ready room and asking to not be bothered by anything less dire than another Red Alert. It was disappointing.

Seven had expected to have solved the issue she had arisen the day before by now. Whether her conversation with the captain would lead to the romantic involvement Seven would prefer or to a stinging rejection was irrelevant. Seven wasn't fond of the state of uncertainty she was currently in and it was far more efficient to have established the standard behavior the captain expected of her.

Seven didn't have enough experience with social interactions to know how to handle the situation without the clear rules she had to follow — because it was evident that there were rules involved, if the glares she received when behaving in a manner perceived as incorrect had taught her well.

But it seemed the captain wasn't as eager as she was to clarify her doubts.

“Seven, may I see you in my quarters?” Captain Janeway's voice seeped through the combadge.

As usual, the captain appeared to be keen on challenging her preconceptions.

“On my way, Captain,” she maintained her voice even and professional.

Her efforts to put the smile off her face on the way to Deck 3 proved futile, even when she was forced to share the turbolift with Tal Celes and the young woman insisted in glancing her way with the subtlety of a Borg cube attack.

When she entered the captain's quarters, she registered with immediate efficiency that Captain Janeway looked exhausted, but even as she bit back a yawn, the woman smiled the instant she spotted her. The manner the captain looked at her always caused interesting reactions within her. Today was not different. Her heart rate increased and she began to feel a curious sensation on her intestines — ‘butterflies,’ the Doctor had colorfully explained.

“You wanted to see me,” she stood, hands behind her back.

For some reason, her stance amused the captain. 

“I thought we should talk,” she signaled to the couch next to her. “Sit, Seven.”

Seven complied. It was the correct course of action, because a pleased glint shined in the captain's eyes. 

“You look nervous,” the captain pointed out.

“I am,” she admitted.

“You have nothing to be nervous about, Seven,” she let out a weary chuckle. “I don't bite.”

Seven ignored the joke. “I am… uncertain of what state our friendship will be in by the end of our conversation.”

“You don't have to be,” Janeway shook her head fervently, something akin to regret shadowing her features. “Sometimes I have to be the bad guy and make the tough choices, and yes, sometimes we'll fight because of it, but you'll never lose my friendship, Seven. Do you understand?”

“I do,” Seven's implant twitched. That issue was not what worried her. She had long since comprehended the hardships that came with befriending the captain, and never took it personal when they disagreed — it was just what they did. Most times, Seven enjoyed the dynamics that resulted from their disputes. They brought her great insight into the different aspects of Humanity. “But Captain…”

“Yes?”

“You  _ are _ aware of the affection I harbor for you, aren't you?”

“I've noticed, yes,” she grinned. “And I hope you know I care a great deal about you as well.”

“No, Captain-” Seven sighed, growing more exasperated by the second. “I have never known you to be this dense.”

Janeway's mouth fell open. The gap was approximately 1.2 centimeters and it closed in short of 2 seconds. “I beg your pardon?”

“Captain, I possess romantic feelings toward you,” Seven's tone was the verbal equivalent of an eye roll.

Captain Janeway was paralyzed.

She blinked twice, eyes settling behind Seven, to the stars, before she stood up. She paced across the room for 6.7 seconds under Seven's attentive gaze. Then she headed to the replicator on a beeline and asked for a cup of coffee. After a hearty gulp, she turned to face Seven, who raised her ocular implant quizzically.

“We have a hell of a lot more to discuss than I'd originally thought,” she said.

“I am also aware that you are sexually attracted to me,” Seven added. It needed to be said in case the captain had misinterpreted her words a second time.

“Thanks for that,” the captain pressed her eyes shut, grimacing. “I'm not going to lie to you and say I'm not. You're too smart to buy that.”

“Is that a compliment or a commentary on your thought process?”

The captain's brows furrowed. By the way she sucked on her lip and looked away, it appeared to be the latter. Her head snapped up, and the captain stared straight at her, bewildered. 

“You are in love with me?” The captain questioned with sudden determination in her stance.

“I am.”

“Why?” The captain's face twisted in suspicion, eyes wild and lower lip sucked between her teeth. In her head, the cogs were shifting and turning, trying to work out how Seven could possibly feel what she claimed.

“According to the Doctor's explanation of love, and a rather lengthy research I conducted recently, there's a number of neurochemicals involved, namely oxytocin, dopamine, vasopressin, estrogen, testosterone-”

“Seven, as thrilling as hearing about your research is, I frankly don't have the patience for it now,” Janeway said, and Seven fell silent. People had suggested on multiple occasions that socializing with her required plenty of energy, but the captain had never been one of them. “Are you sure?”

“Captain?”

“Are you sure about your… feelings?” She repeated.

“I am no child,” her voice hardened to the point she felt it wavering. “I might be inexperienced, I might be… unaccustomed to emotional involvement, but I am as capable to understand and learn from my emotions as you are.”

“I know that,” the captain rushed to assure her. “You have become an impressive individual. You have regained your Humanity more than I could've ever hoped, Seven. I never meant to suggest otherwise, it's just- This is unexpected, Seven, you  _ have _ to understand that!” She covered her face with her hands. “How did this happen?”

Seven sighed. “Captain, I realize you are going through an enlightening moment but, I must ask, how shall we proceed?”

The captain looked up from her palms. She was about to respond when she closed her mouth, suddenly looking calm. She tilted her head. “This is why you were worried. You thought I wouldn't want to see you anymore.”

She swallowed. “Yes.”

“Chakotay told me something funny last night.”

The sudden change of the matter at hand alarmed her. Surely the captain wouldn't ignore her feelings now that she had confessed them. “Captain?”

“He believed we were dating.”

Her eyes widened. “I didn't mention-”

“No, I know. I just think it's funny that he thought that and now… here we are,” she lifted her arms and chuckled humorlessly. She seemed pained as she said her next words, “I love you, too, you know?"

“You do?” She maintained the coolness in her expression. It was too early to have an emotional response. The captain's confession was told with the soberty of a tragedy. She didn't share Seven's wonder for the unknown feelings blooming in her chest, only the sheer panic that seemed to accompany it constantly. “That is relieving.”

“I bet,” the captain drawled. “I know you're expecting me to swoop in and have a solution for everything, but I'm afraid right now I'm as lost as you are.”

“Alright. However, I must confess that I am not lost. I know with exactitude what I want, Captain.”

“And what may that be?”

Seven shifted on her heels. “A date.”

Whatever the captain had been expecting, it was not that. She lifted her eyebrows and her jaw went slack.

Seven looked away, lips curling. She was aware from the beginning that a negative response was a likely possibility. It remained a certainty, however, that it was an unpleasant one to face. 

“That displeases you,” she couldn't keep the dejection off her voice, no matter how strongly she wished to pretend she would ultimately exit the room undamaged.

“No! No, it's not that. I don't know what I expected, to be honest,” she sighed and rubbed her eyes. “Maybe not to be in a position where I am asked on a date by a crewman? Or one where I'm actually considering it?” 

“You are a beautiful woman, Captain. Is it astonishing that someone may be interested in courting you?”

“You… think I'm beautiful?” The captain managed to smirk through her incredulity.

Seven's exasperation grew. “Anybody with functional eyesight has noticed. Your physique is enticing, your facial structure is visually satisfactory, and your auburn hair crowns your beauty with its distinctiveness. Your prowess as a leader does nothing but further your allure — Captain, why am I pointing out indisputable facts to you?”

Kathryn Janeway stared open-mouthed. Her cheeks were heating up at the obscene amount of compliments that were spilling from Seven's mouth. Seven of Nine, one of the most attractive women she had ever come across — nevermind much youthful than her — considered  _ her _ beautiful. She almost wanted to laugh at the irony, but Seven's big confessions were about to give her a heart attack any second now.

It wasn't that Kathryn didn't think she was attractive. She did. She considered herself a solid 8, maybe a 9, if she dressed up nicely. Nonetheless, she felt she paled in comparison to Seven.

Seven, who reciprocated her feelings, thought of her as beautiful and looked at her with so much adoration shining in her eyes that it made Kathryn question how she had been so blind to it.

“Captain?” Seven snapped her out of her absorption. She straightened her back defensively at the still dumbfounded expression the captain carried. “I find it highly unlikely that nobody has ever told you that.”

“Well, you better start believing it,” she drawled dryly. Then she shook her head with a chuckle. “Good God, Seven, if you're gonna stand there and talk about my physique and how ‘visually satisfactory’ it is, then you better start calling me Kathryn. In private, of course.”

“Should I consider that as a yes?” Seven asked. At her confused look, she hurried to add, “To the date.”

“Oh, right. The date,” she muttered. 

It was a terrible idea for so many reasons. There was the fact that Seven was her subordinate, and that her judgement might be clouded by any further involvement with the woman. Also, if it didn't work out, they had a  _ long _ trip left to Earth and the starship wasn't big enough to avoid each other if there was bad blood between them.

Not that Kathryn wanted their potential relationship to fail, but it was only pragmatic to consider the possibility.

Although it  _ was _ just a date.

Then again, she doubted a date with Seven would be  _ just _ anything.

She stared back at Seven's attentive gaze and she found her blue eyes wide with hope and weariness, like she was reminding herself that Kathryn might break her heart. The thought alone filled Kathryn with unwavering determination to  _ never _ be responsible for that.

“Yes, you got a date,” she said, in a more confident tone.

Seven inhaled sharply. She looked like she was trying her damnedest to keep herself from smiling. She was doing a poor job. It brought a grin to Kathryn's face.

“Very well,” Seven nodded and allowed herself a tiny smile. “Is tomorrow in holodeck 2 at 1700 hours acceptable for our date?”

Kathryn's eyes widened, as did her grin. “Seems like you got it all sorted out.”

“Of course,” Seven said. She moved to turn around, the objective of the conversation accomplished, but stopped herself at the last moment. She turned her head to Kathryn. “And Captain? I believe my exact words were ‘your physique is enticing’ and ‘your facial structure is visually satisfactory,’ not the other way around. I thought you may want to remember.”

“Ah, how could I forget.” As she began to leave, Kathryn barked out a laugh. “And I told you to call me Kathryn!”

The door opened, and Seven looked at her over her shoulder. She winked.

And if her heart skipped a beat at the sight, well… That was entirely Seven's fault for being uncharacteristically flirtatious. She could get used to it.

Kathryn's chest warmed, actually beginning to feel excited at the thought of a date after such a long time, with a woman she adored, no less, and her cheeks blushed lightly with her grin as she watched Seven walk away.

* * *

The second the doors of Kathryn's quarters closed, she found herself pulled into Seven's arms. She gasped, eyes widening as they met Seven's heated gaze. Seven kissed her. There was no hesitation, no fumbling. Seven possessed all the certainty Kathryn felt she was lacking at the moment. 

As a matter of fact, Seven was kissing her quite thoroughly and Kathryn had no issue in letting her.

“I am told the anticipation of the first kiss is often uncomfortable,” Seven muttered, still nose to nose. “I wanted to relieve the tension.”

Kathryn hummed. She was partly humoring her, but mostly she hadn't yet regained her capability for coherent thought, and first kisses was too complicated a subject to explain when she could be having seconds.

“Good thinking,” she said, and smirked, just a little bit. 

She leaned forward, pressing a gentler kiss to Seven's lips. She lingered, giving her a little taste of her tongue to part her lips, make her sigh against her mouth and leave her wanting more. She moved to stop, and Seven  _ whimpered _ . A whimper. That was a noise she was actually capable of. Seven whimpered, and steadied her grip to the back of Kathryn's head before deepening the kiss.

Kathryn thought her knees might have buckled. She admitted nothing. It  _ had _ been a while since she last felt like a romanceable human being, since she last indulged in human contact at this rate.

She couldn't help but chuckle when Seven finally let her go.

“Oh, my,” she breathed out and instinctively licked her lips. “Have you heard the rumors?” Kathryn pulled back in Seven's arms, a sly smile stretching her lips. Seven's ocular implant rose. “There's a passionate illicit affair occurring in the captain's quarters at this very moment.”

She was delighted to see Seven showing her amusement with a hint of a smirk. She leaned forward, until her lips were three mere centimeters away from Kathryn's. Kathryn swallowed, eyes dropping to Seven's full lips. Kathryn was tantalized by the way her breathing hit her chin.

“Oh, I wouldn't call it illicit,” Seven muttered, the grave sound of her voice affecting Kathryn more than it probably should. “Although it does exhibit a certain amount of… passion.”

Before Kathryn could respond to that — not that her mind was particularly functional at the moment — Seven pulled her from the back of her head into another searing kiss.

After that, everything went on a blur. Seven's touch made her head dizzy and, as she attempted to drown herself in the former drone's kisses, she barely registered the doors chiming and the hissed-out  _ yes _ that escaped her lips — what with Seven biting her neck — before the doors to her quarters slid open.

“Captain, I-”

It all came to a halt.

Tuvok looked back and forth between the two women he had interrupted in an intimate moment. If he had any less composure, and didn't meditate every night, he might've blushed.

Tuvok certainly wasn't expecting to find the captain pinned against the wall by Seven of Nine, hands held firmly over her head. Seven's other hand was otherwise... occupied somewhere around the captain's hips that Tuvok would rather remain oblivious of. The captain's face suggested that she… enjoyed it. 

Tuvok handled this situation in the way he always did when facing other people's personal matters.

Repression, repression, repression.

Captain Janeway and Seven of Nine appeared to be speechless when faced with his presence. Out of mercy to his old friend — and most likely to himself — he retreated quickly from the situation.

“I'll… return later, Captain” he said and turned around, exiting the room without complaints.

He would have to have a conversation with the captain regarding fraternization urgently, it seemed.

But in a different setting. Definitely in a different setting. He didn't think he'd take a ‘yes’ from the captain as a sign to enter ever again.


End file.
